We're a business and in order to make profits, businesses charge money for the services they provide. We provide a service here by delivering a staff-monitored forum. I don't know if there are other staff-monitored forums out there (I'm sure there are some), but I do realize that there are other places to interact with other people for free. One of the major themese I've heard from people who've said that they aren't paying is that they can get what's here for free elsewhere. Actually, you can't.

You can't get the same people, the same collective intelligence, the same technology, the same board subjects, etc. The Fool, like other communities, is unique and distinct, as are all communities. Saying that you can get what you get here for free somewhere else is like saying that you can get Chicago when you go to New York because they are both cities with tall buildings. They aren't the same.

Now, I point all of this out not to dissuade you, but to merely point out that you can't get what's here anywhere but here. Similar but different, perhaps. But not the same.

The value equation for you, and everyone, is to figure out whether this unique community provides enough value to you that you can justify paying $1.25 per month over the next 2 years to be a part of it. For anyone that does the math in their own head and comes up short of $1.25 in value per month, then they should not pay. It just wouldn't make sense. But, for those who do, it makes complete sense.